Article 4. Decision-Making, Agreements, Conflict Resolution, and Ratification

1. Transparency. Decisions must be transparent, meaning they are recorded in sufficient detail to spell out the issue that was considered, the decision taken, the decision-making method used, and the result. These records shall be available to all Ambassadors at all times, regardless of current membership status.
2. Subsidiarity. Unless otherwise specified, decisions should be taken by the smallest group of affected Ambassadors or Teams.
3. Agreements. Agreements are a Transparent recording of the decisions made by Ambassadors, which may outline the rules, policies, procedures, rights, or obligations etc. of Ambassadors. Agreements may be amended or repealed by another Agreement. 
1. Agreements may be proposed by one or more Ambassadors.The proposal must include the Decision-Making Method to be used to reach Agreement, and is only considered an Agreement once the decision has been approved according to the method.
2. According to the principle of Subsidiarity, Ambassadors may make many Agreements that do not require integration into the Bylaws but shall be maintained with Transparency by the relevant team or teams. 
3. Agreements that pertain to all the members of more than one Official Team, or that pertain to all Ambassadors, or that meaningfully impact a large percentage of Ambassadors spanning more than one team, or that alter these Bylaws, must be approved in a General Assembly using a Supermajority Decision and the Sponsor.
4. General Assembly. The membership of the General Assembly shall consist of all Ambassadors that are in Good Standing at the time of the Assembly, and shall include Ambassadors not in Good Standing for failure to participate in Governance. 
1. Agenda. Agreement proposals that require or request a General Assembly decision must obtain consent from the Agenda Team to be added to the Agenda. In general, items must be added to the agenda one month in advance. In case of an emergency, the Agenda Team may make an exception and include an Emergency Item on the agenda without advance notice.
2. Scheduling. A General Assembly shall be scheduled as needed, but no more frequently than once each 90 days. In order to be scheduled, a General Assembly must meet the following requirements: i) have at least 1 proposed Agreement that requires a General Assembly, ii) each proposed Agreement must be clearly and publicly documented and available for discussion at least 1 month prior to the date of the assembly, unless it is an Emergency Item, and iii) there must be advance notice of at least one month provided to all Ambassadors, which  must include the proposed date, time, location, and agenda of the General Assembly.
5. Decision-Making Methods. Decisions shall be made by a specific method specified here, or some other method that must be documented by the team using a different method. Any alternative processes must adhere to the principles of Transparency and Subsidiarity and must strive to achieve the reasonable consent of those that are affected.
1. Supermajority Decision. The affirmative vote of at least ⅔+1 of the votes cast is required to approve. At least 50% +1 of eligible voters must cast a vote for the decision to be considered valid, and a veto or objection vote of at least 10% of the votes cast will cause the decision to fail.
2. Majority Decision. The affirmative vote of at least ½+1 of the votes cast  is required to approve. At least 50% +1 of eligible voters must cast a vote for the decision to be considered valid, and a veto or objection vote of at least 10% of the votes cast will cause the decision to fail.
3. Plurality Decision. In a vote with more than 2 options, the option with the greatest number of affirmative votes is approved. At least 50% +1 of eligible voters must cast a vote for the decision to be considered valid, and a veto or objection vote of at least 10% of the votes cast will cause the decision to fail.
4. Ranked Choice Decision. In a vote with more than 2 options, each option is ranked in order of preference. If no option has a majority, the option with the fewest first-choice votes is eliminated, with the votes being redistributed based on their second choices. The process continues until a majority is reached. At least 50% +1 of eligible voters must cast a vote for the decision to be considered valid, and a veto or objection vote of at least 10% of the votes cast will cause the decision to fail.
5. Consent Decision. After presenting the agreement and clarifying any questions, the decision may be approved unless there are strong objections based on violations of the values, purpose, or other Agreements, or based on significant risk of harm. Objections may be overcome by amending the agreement to compensate for the risks such that the objection is withdrawn.
6. Decree. Certain decisions may be made by individuals independently - for example, the decision to create an Ad hoc Team, or to exclude an Applicant from the Apprentice group. Decree decisions may always be disputed through Conflict Resolution.
6. Conflict Resolution Process. The Conflict Resolution Team and Process provides a method for appealing decisions or confirming violations of Agreements or the Bylaws. The Conflict Resolution Process must admit evidence and arguments from all parties to a Complaint, and is responsible to reach a decision as to the Complaint.
1. Complaints. A complaint is a document outlining an alleged violation of Agreements or an unjust decision or action taken by an Ambassador. 
2. Initiator. A complaint may be initiated by an Ambassador or by the Sponsor.
3. Recusal. A Conflict Resolution Team member must recuse themselves from deliberation and voting on any Complaint where they are a party to the complaint, or where they have an interest, except those interests in common with all Ambassadors or all members of a Permanent Team.
4. Public Deliberation. The Conflict Resolution Team shall deliberate publicly the merits of the complaint, and shall keep an open record of the deliberation. The team shall render a decision based on a simple majority vote, with the Sponsor Representative providing a tie-breaking vote when there is no majority. The vote shall be anonymous, with each member providing their decision and a simple statement of their reasoning for the decision. The Sponsor vote will be ignored unless there is a tie. 
5. Recommendation. The Conflict Resolution Team may reach the following outcomes for a Complaint.
1. Recommend that Sponsor terminate an Ambassador from the Program.
2. Recommend that a Team elects a new Lead Ambassador and that Sponsor demote a Lead Ambassador.
3. Recommend the Onboarding and Growth Team re-admit an Applicant.
4. Recommend that the relevant Team(s) replace an Agreement or repeal a decision.
5. Recommend admission as a new Ambassador, with the then-current new ambassador rights and obligations, for an Ambassador formerly terminated from the Program. 
6. Recommend restoration of an Ambassador to Good Standing in the Program
7. Dismiss the complaint without a recommendation of any action.
6. Appeal of Recommendation. The person(s) receiving the recommendation of the Conflict Resolution Process, or the affected Ambassador(s), may appeal the Recommendation. In the event of an appeal, the Conflict Resolution Team for the subsequent term shall be appointed immediately so that the appeal can be heard quickly, but by the next Conflict Resolution Team. The Conflict Resolution Team that hears the appeal may choose to withdraw the recommendation, let the recommendation stand, or make an alternative Recommendation.
7. Failure to Implement Recommendations. If Sponsor or a Team fail to implement the recommendations of the Conflict Resolution Team, with no appeal or after a failed appeal, they must explain the decision to a General Assembly, and a simple majority vote of the General Assembly may compel compliance with the Conflict Resolution Team’s recommendation, subject to Article 1 Section 3 Paragraph 3. A supermajority vote of the General Assembly may void the Recommendation. A failed vote of the General Assembly shall require further discussion by the parties involved to attempt to reach an agreement, and may cause amendments to this Conflict Resolution Process if resolution is not achieved.
7. Ratification. These Bylaws will be initially ratified by the Agreement entered into between each Ambassador and the Sponsor. Subsequent ratification of modifications shall be via Supermajority with the consent of the Sponsor, as specified in Article 4 Section 3 Paragraph 3.